Jennifer Goodlander

Department of Theatre, Drama, and Contemporary Dance

Indiana University Bloomington

Title: “Woman behind the Shadows: My Journey with Puppets and Tradition in Bali”

Hybrid event (in-person CLB 100); Xoom registration: https://niu-edu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYrcuCupjsjGNAG0sX0DVL3FWT4WwVpz02d

In 2008, while in Bali to study women and traditional performance, Professor Jennifer Goodlander met puppeteer I Wayan Tunjung.  He agreed to teach her how to perform one of the most important genres of performance on the island -- wayang kulit, or shadow puppetry. Little did she realize that this opportunity to better understand Balinese cultures and arts would turn into an amazing journey of ritual and shadows. In this talk, Jennifer will describe the training and rituals she experienced while becoming a dalang, or puppeteer, in order to provide insight into the function of tradition in Balinese religion and culture.

Jennifer Goodlander is an Associate Professor at Indiana University in the Department of Comparative Literature where she teaches classes on Indonesian and global theatre, literature, and other arts. She is also an active affiliate faculty member in Theatre and Drama, Folklore, and Museum Studies. Jennifer has published numerous articles and two books: Women in the Shadows: Gender, Puppets, and the Power of Tradition in Bali (Ohio University Press, 2016) and Puppets and Cities: Articulating Identities in Southeast Asia (Bloomsbury Methuen Drama, 2018). Her current research looks at transnational Southeast Asian identities as expressed in performance, literature, and art. Jennifer is also the current President for the Association of Asian Performance.